Wednesday, 25 July 2007

Quick and spicy noodles

This is a weeknight dinner that I thought looked quick and easy. Most of the ingredients were in my kitchen - all I had to buy was spring onions and accompanying vegetables. It is one of those recipes that I only noticed recently despite the many times I have poured over my Anne Marshall cookbook in hope of inspiration.

Recipe books are like that. I read them so many times and yet depending on mood and available ingredients, some days they surprise you with a recipe. I sometimes start novels a few times before I race through them. I think recipes are like this too. When I was a student we called this the reciptivity theory - which is sort of a bit like Hemmingway saying if it feels good, it is good, but in this case it is a matter it is right if it feels right at that moment in time (aah, student days when we had time and energy for such discussions)! Anyway, sometimes I am just not ready for recipes and then one day I find that they are just what I want and need and can do. So it was with this recipe. After lurking in the shadows for years, it jumped out at me.

I was attracted to the unusually addition of tahini in a spicy Asian sauce which did indeed add a certain creaminess which would probably be welcomed by those with nut allergies. The recipe has cashews but I used the chopped peanuts that I have had hanging around the pantry for some time, but it would be equally tasty without nuts. I added mushrooms and carrot which sort of disappeared in the sauce but no doubt added some flavour. It probably could have a bit more spices – Anne Marshall calls for 2 tablespoons each of garlic and ginger but as I don’t usually measure either garlic or ginger this way, I suspect I underdid it. E still added Tabasco sauce (and he even added some tomato sauce so he is just the hoi polloi!)

Best of all, it was pretty quick. Monday night I served it with Brussels sprouts, baby spinach and corn on the cob. Tuesday night, I served it with a variety of stir fried veggies (carrot, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, zucchini, red capsicum, snowpeas) and tonight I had the leftover stir fried veggies with rice. I love leftovers during the week!

Stir fry chilli, garlic and ginger in oil for about 1-2 minutes over medium heat. Add spring onions, mushrooms and carrot and stir fry another 2-3 minutes. Add chilli sauce, tahini, soy sauce and stock and stir another 3-5 minutes. Meanwhile cook noodles in boiling water and drain. The recipe says to serve noodles in a bowl and then pour sauce over but I omitted to read that bit and mixed them together before serving. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts.

10 comments:

I must say that those noodles looks very delicious. The idea of using tahini for added richness is brilliant, especially for people like me who seem to find allergies in almost just about everything creamy.

While the recipe looks (really) good, I most identify with your remarks about re-reading certain recipes until they "hit" you because you are ready for them. I've found some of my favorites that way, after skimming through them several times.

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Recipes and reflections in which our vegetarian heroine dreams of being tall and graceful as a giraffe; being a goddess in the kitchen; and being gladdened by green gadgets, green food and green politics because green is the colour of hope. See About Me for more info.